Choose the Right Synonym for discipline

Verb

punish, chastise, castigate, chasten, discipline, correct mean to inflict a penalty on in requital for wrongdoing. punish implies subjecting to a penalty for wrongdoing.
punished for stealing chastise may apply to either the infliction of corporal punishment or to verbal censure or denunciation.
chastised his son for neglecting his studies castigate usually implies a severe, typically public censure.
an editorial castigating the entire city council chasten suggests any affliction or trial that leaves one humbled or subdued.
chastened by a landslide election defeat discipline implies a punishing or chastening in order to bring under control.
parents must discipline their children correct implies punishing aimed at reforming an offender.
the function of prison is to correct the wrongdoer

teach, instruct, educate, train, discipline, school mean to cause to acquire knowledge or skill. teach applies to any manner of imparting information or skill so that others may learn.
taught us a lot about our planet instruct suggests methodical or formal teaching.
instructs raw recruits in military drill educate implies development of the mind.
more things than formal schooling serve to educate a person train stresses instruction and drill with a specific end in view.
trained foreign pilots to operate the new aircraft discipline implies training in habits of order and precision.
a disciplined mind school implies training or disciplining especially in what is hard to master.
schooled the horse in five gaits

The Root and Meanings of Discipline

Discipline comes from discipulus, the Latin word for pupil, which also provided the source of the word disciple (albeit by way of a Late Latin sense-shift to “a follower of Jesus Christ in his lifetime”). Given that several meanings of discipline deal with study, governing one’s behavior, and instruction, one might assume that the word’s first meaning in English had to do with education.
In fact, the earliest known use of discipline appears to be punishment-related; it first was used in the 13th century to refer to chastisement of a religious nature, such as self-flagellation.

Examples of discipline in a Sentence

Noun

Sir Robert Peel is credited with creating the first modern police force, the bobbies, in London, in 1829, but the transformation of law enforcement, and especially forensic science, into a professional discipline was a haphazard affair.— Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker, 7 May 2007Pragmatism became America's most important contribution to the life of the mind in the 20th century. Filtered through scores of later interpreters, it percolated across a broad segment of academic culture and influenced disciplines as diverse as literary criticism and legal theory.— Theo Anderson, Wilson Quarterly, Summer 2007So the next fall I went to Hampshire College and began studying under Herbert Bernstein. Without him, I would never have become a scientist. He shamed me into doing the hard work necessary to be able not just to talk about math and physics but to calculate. Without that discipline, my story would have been very different …— Lee Smolin, Curious Minds, (2004) 2005He stood erect, his bearing patrician, his dress impeccable. His face was stern and his pale eyes unsmiling behind his trifocals, like a man who had been called from important duties in the principal's office to administer discipline to an unruly classroom.— Nick Taylor, Laser, 2000
The teacher has a hard time maintaining discipline in the classroom.
The troops were praised for their dedication and discipline.
Some parents feel that the school's principal has been too harsh in meting out discipline.
Keeping a journal is a good discipline for a writer.

Verb

The Army disciplined seven men for the incident, penalties ranging from pay-cuts and loss of rank to dismissal from the Rangers and return to the rank-and-file Army.— Gary Smith, Sports Illustrated, 11 Sept. 2006Volunteers have to undergo a program to discipline the mind and cleanse the soul.— Aparism Ghosh, Time, 4 July 2005The teacher then took me to the principal's office. There, the principal attempted to discipline me with an old Catholic school technique called "paddling" …— Lalo Gomez, Undoing Time, 2001
She was disciplined for misbehaving in class.
He seems unwilling or unable to discipline his children.
I'm trying to discipline myself to eat less.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'discipline.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.